Container band severing tool



Sept. 27, 1949- c. E. STAFFORD 2,

CONTAINER BAND SEVERING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 18, ;944

IN VEN TOR.

JQTTORNEY CONTAINER BAND SEVERING TOOL Filed Appil 18, .944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r "I INVENTOR. s i mar/6J2: W1

Patented Sept. 27, 1949 con'ramm 1mm savanmc 'roon came. a. salami, United States Army,

Mira lama, Calif.

Application April 18,1944, Serial No. 531,594

3 Claims; (01. 7-141) (Granted undervthe act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein, if patented may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without, the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a cutting, extracting and prying tool for use in opening containers, and more particularly to an improvement of the tool' which is disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial Number 523,170, filed February 19,

1944, now issued as Patent #2,389,648, November 27, 1945.

Heretofore, containers, such as barrels. boxes, bales, cartons and the like, were opened by employing shears, snips or other tools for cutting the straps, wires, ropes, and other binders. A blade of the snlps. is forced flatwisebetween the strap and container, and then the blade is turned to present its cutting edge to the strap. In this position the blade is immovably bound between the container and the strap, and the other blade has onlylimited movement. The strap is cut by manipulating the movable blade, but the cutting operation is awkward and prolonged owing to the inconvenient position of the snips and the limited movement of the free blade.

After the straps or other binders are cut, the

operator usually attempts to open the container with his hands rather than procure and use the proper tool.- This procedure frequently results in serious injuries to the operator.

If the container is formed of relatively heavy material, the operator must resort to another tool or tools to break or remove the cover. If a hand ax is employed, the results are unsatisfactory, because the ax frequently cuts through the container covering and injures its contents. If the cover of the container is formed of slats, boards or staves which are secured in place by nails and binders, then after the binders have been removed, the nails must be extracted, or the boards or slats pried from the container. The operations require the use of one ortwo additional tools,

and frequently makeshift tools are used simply because they happen to be more conveniently located. The use of the makeshift tool frequently it is unsatisfactory because frequently the tool slips and injures the operator.

All the operations hereinbefore explained require the operator to employ his hands, and if his hands are not protected by heavy gloves. they are frequently seriously cut, and if the gloves are worn the operator is handicapped ence.

An object of this invention is to provide a tool which is constructed and arranged for convenient use in performing all the operations necessary opening containers of various, types.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tool for convenient use in performing the operations necessary to open a .container without injury to its contents, the tool having a cutting element detachably secured thereto.

A further object of thisinvention is to provide a container-opening tool which includes a broad base or blade, a manipulating handle extending therefrom, a detachable knife disposed perpendicularly to the blade and having an exposed cutting edge which is rearwardly and upwardly in clined throughout its length.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a container-opening tool which includesa broad case or Made, a manipulating handle extending therefrom, a housing extending perpendicularly from the blade and having a knife-re! ceiving recess formed therein, and a knife detachably secured to the housing and having a portion thereof located within the recess.

A specific object of this invention is to provide a container-opening tool which includes a broad base or blade, a manipulating handle extending therefrom, a housing extending perpendicularly from the blade and having a knife-receiving recess formed therein, a knife detachably secured to the housing and having a portion thereof located in the recess, and a support in the housing adapted to engage the blade.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a container-opening tool which includes a broad base or blade, a manipulating handle ex- With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in form, proportion and minor details of the construction may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any advantages of the invention.

For a complete disclosure of the invention, a detailed description thereof will now be given in connection with the drawings forming a part of the specification, wherein: V

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved tool shown in use in severing a. binder or strap of a shipping case or container;

Fig. 2 is a similar view depicting the improved 4 knife 26 is secured within the housing I! wi its pointed terminal 28 located below the retaining lip 25, and its rear terminal secured by v the pin 38, the lower edge surface 28 of the shank 21 engages a supporting member or shelf II which extends transversely across the housin to thereby support the knife blade.

By this arrangement, the knife 26 is supported at its opposed terminals so that its lower cutting edge 28, which is located within the recess 2|, is spaced from the bottom of the recess, thereby protecting this edge against injury. After the upper or exposed edge 28 of the knife becomes dull from repeated use, the retaining pin III is removed, and then the knife 26 is reversed and again secured in place by re-inserting the retaining pin 30. In this reversed position, the sharp edge 28 of the knife is exposed for use, which tool in use in severing the cover of a cardboard container;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the tool, depicting it in use in opening a cardboard container;

Fig. 4' is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, depicting the tool in use in prying the cover board from a box;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on y the line 55 of Fig. 3; and

' Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of F18. 3.

Referring to the drawings, in which corre to provide a relatively wide prying or fulcrum portion i2 which tapers forwardly and terminates in an entering and fulcrum edge It. The fulcrum edge I3 and the blade portion l2 are interrupted by a conventional V-shaped nail-pulling or extracting kerf l5.

The rearward portion of the base or blade II is thickened and blends into. a manipulating handle l6 which is substantially circular in cross section at its outer terminal. This handle is disposed in angular relation with respect to the base of the blade ll, so that a fulcrum surface I! is formed at the intersection of the base H and handle l6.

A housing l9 extends upwardly in perpendicular relation from the blade II, and this housing has spaced parallel longitudinally-extending side walls which define a blade-receiving recess 2| therebetween. The housing is may be formed integral with the blade II, or it may be formed as a separate component and suitably secured thereto. Each side wall 28 has the greater portion of its upper edge tapered rearwardly and upwardly, as indicated at 22, and the rear terminals of the side walls 20 are provided with projecting flanges or ears 22 having arcuate front edges 24. The forward portions of the side walls 20 taper downwardly to the upper surface of the blade II, and these forward portions are covered by a. retaining lip or plate 25. v

A knife 26 is provided which includes a projecting shank 21 and opposed tapered converging cuttin edges 28. The forward portions of the cutting edges 28 taper to a point 29, and this point is preferably received within the recesses 2| of the housing under the retaining lip 25. The shank 21 of the knife is provided with a transversely-extending aperture 3| for the reception of a retaining pin 38, and this pin also extends through aligned apertures 32 formed in the opposed ears 2! of the housing. when the When employing the tool Hi to remove a strap I or binder S from a container (Fig. 1), the tool is pushed forwardly to cause the strap S to ride upwardly along the upper face of the inclined plate 25 until the lower face of the strap S is engaged by the exposed edge 28 of the knife 26. After the exposed cutting edge 28 of the blade 26 engages the lower surface of the'strap S, the operator continues to push the tool forwardly, thereby causing the lower face of the strap S to ride upwardly along the cutting edge 28 of the knife 26. After the binder strap S is drawn taut, the operator lifts the manipulating handle l6 so that the tool In swings upwardly about its fulcrum edge l3. This action is continued until the cuttin edge 28 of the knife 26 severs the binder S.

After the binder has been cut, it snaps from its binding position thereby releasing the tool 26. The arcuate front edges 24 of the ears 23 are located to engage the straps S to prevent them from passing beyond the knife 26, and these arcuate edges may be sharpened to aid in cutting the straps or binders.

After the straps S or other binders have been severed, the entrance edge l3 of the blade II' is forced between the cover board C and a side or end of the box B (Figure 4) to thereby pry the cover boards from the box. If preferred, the securing nails N, best seen in Figure l, are removed from the cover boards C by manipulating the tool So that its nail-pulling kerf I5 is positioned to engage the nail under its head, and then rocking the tool about its fulcrum surface I! to extract the nail.

If a heavy cardboard container, of the type depicted in Figures 2 and 3, is to be opened, the entrance edge l3 of the tool is forced between the cover and the over-hanging side flaps of the container (Figure 3) to permit the tool ID to pry open the engaged portion of the cover. The tool is then forced forwardly (Figure 2) to cause its tapered cutting edge 28 to cut through the cover so that the cover may be moved back to expose the contents of the container.

From the foregoing it will be readily seen that a container of any conventional commercial type may be readily opened by conveniently employing this relatively simple tool, and the entire opening operation may be completed without resorting to the use of other tools, thus saving valuable time in the operation. Furthermore, the knife 26 may be conveniently removed from the tool to permit its cutting edges to be re-sharpened or to insert a new knife.

I claim:

1. A container-opening tool comprising a fiat base formed into a relatively wide blade at the forward edge thereof to provide a relatively wide entrance and fulcrum portion, a rearwardly extending handle on said base, a triangular cutting blade normal to said base, a blade housing projecting vertically from said base, and support means in said housing projecting upwardly from said base to a height suilicient to maintain the lowermost point of the rear portion of said triangular cutting blade out of contact with said base, with a cutting edge of said triangular cutting blade projecting out of said housing in severing position.

2. A container-opening tool comprising a flat base formed into a relatively wide blade at the forward edge thereof to provide a relatively wide entrance and fulcrum portion, a rearwardly extending handle on said base, a triangular cutting blade normal to said base, a blade housing projecting vertically from said base and having forward edges sloping upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, a lip in the forward portion of said housing receiving the apex portion of said triangular cutting blade, and support means in said housing spaced from said lip and projecting upwardly from said base to a height sufiicient to maintain the lowermost point of the rear portion of said triangular cutting blade out of contact with said base, with a cutting edge of said triangular cutting blade projecting out of said housing in severing position.

3. A container-opening tool for severing the binders on a container, comprising a fiat base formed into a relatively wide blade at the forward edge thereof to provide a relatively wide entrance and fulcrum portion, a rearwardly extending handle on said base, a triangular cutting blade, and means for detachably mounting said triangular blade on said base with a cutting edge sloping upwardly and rearwardly from a point adjacent the forward edge of said base in severing position, said means including retaining means on said fiat base to receive the apex of said triangular blade and support means spaced from said retaining means and projectingupwardly from said base to a height sufficient to maintain the lowermost point of the rear portion of said triangular cutting blade out of contact with said base, and a pair of ears on said support means extending vertically above the rear portion of said triangular blade and terminating in forwardly--extending projections for preventing unseveied binders from riding off the upper end of said triangular blade. CHARLES E. STAFFORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 742,324 Howley et al ..Oct. 27, 1903 834,442 Aungst Q. Oct. 30, 1906 944,019 Conrow Dec. 21, 1909 1,131,141 Kalenborn Mar. 9, 1915 1,268,997 Pruett June 11, 1918 1,325,101 Masters Dec. 16, 1919 2,247,958 Maxcy July 1, 1941 2,258,514 Molinelli Oct. '7, 1941 2,300,840 Huxel Nov. 3, 1942 2,389,648 Stafford Nov. 2'7, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 370,402 Germany Mar. 2, 1923 

